New Delhi: Extensive use of encrypted media applications like Discord and Session, assembling like-minded people into groups in the name of terror outfit Islamic State, and following closely its propaganda material and channels is not what a second year dentistry student would be expected to do. These are, however, just the charges that have landed 19-year-old Haris Ali into the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). Ali was pursuing a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree in Moradabad, from where he was nabbed on Sunday.
The UP ATS said it has found that Ali was actively in touch with foreign-based handlers of the IS, including in Pakistan, and that he had established a separate group named ‘Al-Ittihad Media Foundation’. The objective of forming these groups and a communication network was to lure and recruit more and more like-minded individuals, the UP ATS further alleged.
Notably, platforms such as Discord and Session promise open-source messenger technology that prevents metadata storage and consequently the tracking of IP addresses, with no traces linking communication sessions to senders or recipients.
The ATS arrested Ali after booking him under sections 148 (conspiracy to commit offences related to waging war against the Government), 152 (acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
“During the investigation, it was confirmed that the accused, in collusion with his ISIS module handlers within the country and other fellow ‘mujahideen’ associates, sought to overthrow the democratically elected government and establish Sharia law under a Caliphate system. Using pseudonyms and employing tools such as VPNs, Ali created ISIS-backed groups across various social media platforms—including Instagram—and encrypted applications such as Session and Discord,” a UP ATS spokesperson said.
“Through these groups, he actively recruited as many like-minded individuals as possible into the ISIS fold. Within these groups, content was shared that glorified ISIS media channel magazines, propaganda materials, its ideological terrorist doctrines, images, videos, and audio clips of its slain terrorists, as well as speeches delivered by its notorious terrorist ideologues,” the spokesperson further said.
Sources in the ATS said that Ali took “active” interest in the daily affairs of the terror outfit and closely followed all the literature, including its media and news channel Al-Naba as well as its propaganda magazine Dabiq.
The ATS investigation has revealed that Ali had strong objections to democracy, and aspired to establish a Caliphate system and impose Sharia laws in the country. “To achieve these objectives, he actively incited individuals within these groups to carry out fidayeen (suicide) attacks. The investigation is underway to unearth the exact extent of the radicalisation module and find out all members of the module,” an official said.
Officials, however, would not comment on the nature and origin of Ali’s alleged radicalisation or the probable timeline.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)